Freedom House has urged Tajik authorities "to shed light" on the whereabouts of a Tajik researcher from Canada who has not been seen since his arrest on June 17.
In his statement issued late on June 17, the president of the U.S.-based watchdog group, David Kramer, said Aleksandr Sodikov's detention "is looking more like a disappearance."
Earlier on June 17, Tajikistan's State Committee for National Security (KDAM) said Sodikov had been detained in Tajikistan's restive city of Khorugh on suspicion of spying for an unnamed country after he met with an opposition activist.
Several officials later said that Sodikov had been released, but that information has not been confirmed by the KDAM.
Sodikov, 31, is a Tajik national with permanent residency in Canada.
He said he has been touring several Tajik and Uzbek cities as part of his doctoral research at the University of Toronto and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.
In his statement issued late on June 17, the president of the U.S.-based watchdog group, David Kramer, said Aleksandr Sodikov's detention "is looking more like a disappearance."
Earlier on June 17, Tajikistan's State Committee for National Security (KDAM) said Sodikov had been detained in Tajikistan's restive city of Khorugh on suspicion of spying for an unnamed country after he met with an opposition activist.
Several officials later said that Sodikov had been released, but that information has not been confirmed by the KDAM.
Sodikov, 31, is a Tajik national with permanent residency in Canada.
He said he has been touring several Tajik and Uzbek cities as part of his doctoral research at the University of Toronto and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.
